Electro-Harmonix POG Polyphonic Octave Generator

It was pretty simple to use ... the hardest thing about it was finding the right place where to place it in the effects chain.

There is a real simple manual (1 sheet, front and back).

For this test I used a Fender American Standard Telecaster through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Amp. I mainly bought this pedal for the "organ" sound so I first set the pedal up for that sound to give it a test. The results were as close to an organ sound that I've ever heard through a guitar pedal and amp.

To make my organ experiment a little more interesting I hooked my Rotovibe up after the POG (to get a swirly speaker sound) and it did add alot to the sound so for those who have the Rotovibe (or another similar pedal) try it out with the POG.

I just got the pedal today so I haven't tried it out with other pedals to see where I should place it in the effects chain (but it works best with the Rotovibe after the POG).

Another intersting thing about this pedal is it works great as another overdrive pedal. Just use the Input, Dry Output and LPF. Turn the Output down low and turn the Input all the way up and play with the LPF to adjust the EQ.

I've got an Electro-Harmionix Big Muff (USA Reissue) pedal and I've had it for about 2-3 years and it still has the same battery in it and it still works great.

I also had a Holy Grail Reverb pedal that I used with an old amp (that I sold to buy the Fender HRD) and the Holy Grail Reverb pedal was great as well.

I've never had any problems out of either of those pedals so I would say this would most likely be the same.

I sent in the warrenty card for one of the other EH pedals I had and they sent a reply via email commenting about a question I had on my comment section on the vard I sent it. I was impressed that they actually read the card!!!

I bought this pedal mostly for the organ sound and it does it great. I will more than likely try it out and experiment later with it somemore to see what else I can get out of it.

The only thing I didn't like about the pedal is the cost ... the pedal is really expensive. I bought mine used off of Ebay (with the warranty card, AC adapter and box) and the pedal was still $300+.

I went to a store to check this pedal out, after hearing great things about it from Omar (Mars Volta) and having seen Nels Cline use it with Wilco.

I played for 2 minutes with the thing.

I bought it.

This is the first pedal I have heard in 5 years that is truly different and unique. And it takes 2 seconds to get sounds out of it which will make you think you have died and gone to heaven

I use 2 amplifiers (Marshall bluesbreaker + Fender Bassman 59) and a variety of guitars and pedals (15 and counting... : )

This pedal adds a little bit of excess noise, which is to be expected with analogue gear. But the sounds of the things...OH OH OH the sound. This pedal may be that holy grail you have been looking for. If you like Eno soundscapes, radiohead, sigur ros. Fuck if you just love music. BUY THIS

Not had it long enough to say. But EHX stuff is normall pretty reliable.

Only had to deal with EHX once, and they fixed a faulty pedal straight away

This pedal is great for Rock atmosherics, jazz, funk dance. You name it, it has a usable sound for whatever genre.

People who hear this thing literally fall over themselves to get one.

The most original guitar effect for a very very very long time.

Do yourself a favour and buy one

what impressed me most about this pedal is that right out of the box i dialed in a nice funky bass sound, looped the bass line to herbie hancock's chameleon, and then tweaked the sliders a little bit to get that upper range synth/keyboard sound for the melody. this pedal grabbed the right tones pretty quickly and it sounded great. it is somewhat impossible to get the "exact" same settings that you had before though.

i play a guild s-100 into a tweed fender blues deville 212. this pedal definitely produces some weird noises, which is totally due to the low pass filter slider which controls the q or the tone. i had to get this pedal for the promised organ sounds, and i'd say it delivered, but not right away and not exactly what i expected. however, i don't regret spending the money because this pedal has so many good sounds. my band is myself and my brother the drummer, so basically this pedal fattens up my sound on both ends. it suits my style because the tracking is on point and i can play muted bass lines and guitar chords at the same time.

you can tweak the settings a bit with your toes but for a major change you'll have to get down on the floor. i almost freaked out once when it wouldn't turn on but it worked once i unplugged the power and plugged it back in. take care of expensive equipment and it will last a long time. that's my advice. i bought this pedal with my tax return and although it ain't cheap, and i don't think it's "worth it" in a purely objective sense, in my subjective musician's sense of wanting a good sound to make good music no matter what the cost, it's worth it.

i think that we customers support electro harmonix more than they support us, but hey, they make nice effects, so what else do you want? if anybody want to trade up patches or settings or thoughts on this pedal then send me an e-mail.

This is the coolest pedal ever. To sound most like an organ, you need to let the chords ring out. I've found good pipe organ, reed organ, church organ, accordion maybe, steel drums for sure, but the hammond b3 and the fender rhodes are tougher to pin down. A wide variety of synth and bass sounds are readily available, and it's all up to you: you pick what you want and how much of it. the gain is somewhat useful but most won't want to crank it up too much. i haven't really been able to tell too much difference in the lpf 1, 2, or 3, but the lpf slider is great as a final tweak of how bassy or trebley you want to sound at the particular moment. after i heard this pedal i instantly got rid of my eh octave multiplexor because this does much better. i don't have any leslie simulators but one day that might be a good addition. too many cooks spoil the broth, so i'm trying to keep the pedals to a minimum, but i have the line6 loop station/delay and i'm getting a visual sounds route 66 overdrive/compressor in a few days. check out gearclosetaudio.com - i sent them a couple of old pedals as a trade in on a new one- they're even sending me a check for the difference. or they'll just buy your pedals from you. pretty cool. the only other pedal i feel like i have to have right now is the emma effects discumBOBulator envelope filter.

Hopefully someone else will get some use out of this review!!! :) Ok this is just a suggestion for those who have and/or are going to have the POG. I love organ sounds!!! It's my thing, although I play guitar!!!! Go figure. But I have been experimenting ever since I got this thing trying to get the best organ sound out of it. I don't use the EH setting much it seems a bit muddy to me. Instead I use alot of the lower octave a bir of the dry output a little of the second(higher octave) and the detuned 2nd octave all the way!!! I really like that. But also, two things you need for sure for the best organ effect. 1st and most importantly, a leslie simulator, preferably Hughes and Kettner Rotosphere, because it has a good ramp simulation and, I think, a great feature in the break!!! That's up to you but it really needs the leslie sound. Secondly, unlike guitar, organ notes don't fade away, so get a compressor/sustainer (I use Guyatone's ST-2, but there are many to choose from) and crank the sustain all the way, or most. This will lend 2 things to the sound: notes that last forever( this is why i like the ramp feature as you can use it on single notes like real B3 players tend to do) and the compression when sustain is really high, will kinda simulate a little key click. It's not at all perfect but I like it. I hope this is useful to you organ freaks out there cus I promise it works!!!! EH rocks!!!!

ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! JUST DROP ME A LINE!!!

JARRETTBAILEY@HOTMAIL.COM

It's got alot of options and tons of sounds. It will take me a little fooling with to figure it out completely, but the sounds are so great that it makes "ease of use" fun even if it is a little involving!!!

WOW!!! It's like having a rack full of instruments in one little box. I have only had it a few days, but so far I have made organ sounds, 12-string, bass, mandolin, Sitar, and I am sure there are tons more!!! The octaves track so well that you can't tell where the dry signal stops and the octave effect begins!!! I am a B-3 freak!!! I love the sound of a hammond organ. But being a guitarist, it has been impossible to replicate it. But this pedal does the job great!! I am working on getting a leslie simulator now, b/c that is all that is needed to have a great organ sound!!! If you like/love the sound of a B3 this pedal is a must!!! Can I rate this an "11" ?

Not sure yet, but it looks like it is built very sturdy and reliable!! It's my 1st EH, but from what I read and hear they are built to last!!

Not sure yet... sorry

I play funk/blues/rock/acoustic...mostly funk though. I have been playing guitar for about 9 years and this is by far the coolest effect I have owned. It fits my music perfectly!! From acoustic 12-string stuff, to funky B3, it works!!! There are no other analog effects to compare this to. This is it!!!! I am all anlog and so this is the next thing to a synth!! I love it. If I lost it, yeah, definitely find another one quickly!!! I love this site and its helpful info, so if you are curious about this pedal and you are relying on this site to know whether to buy...BUY BUY BUY!! You WILL NOT be disapointed!!! If you get it and find any settings that are extremely cool and/or usable... email me I am always interested!!!

Unit is very easy to operate. Very thoughtful layout of faders as opposed to knobs (they hold positions extremely well and are a breeze to use). The suggested settings in the manual for 12 string guitar, organ and phat bass were right on. I agree with previous post that on 12 string and 18 string guitar settings you need to roll back some treble.
However, short of playing an actual 12 string Ric, the POG does a fine simulation for live applications and allows me to gig with one guitar (2004 Gretsch Setzer Hot Rod with TV Jones Classics).
Because of the variety of sounds available, I have to get used to adjusting the faders back and forth on stage between songs. This is a small price to pay as this unit has added a new dimension to my live sound pallette.
Best of all, the on/off switch is situated far from the faders so you won't accidentally kick your settings during live shows.

My setup is the Gretsch Hot Rod > Fulltone Supa Trem (for tone boost, not tremolo)> Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q > Barber Tone Pump > Maxon AD-80 Analog Delay > POG > Fender '65 Blackface Deluxe Reverb Reissue.
The unit is dead quiet when on or in bypass mode. The sound effects are very usable and never sound cheap. You can tweak them (bass, treble,different octaves/sounds)to your heart's content to get exactly the balance you want
I give the Hammond organ sound a 9.5. It sounded astonishing on "Like a Rollin' Stone" when I broke the unit in on New Year's Eve in a packed club.
I play in a duo with an acoustic guitarist and a drum machine. My bandmate couldn't wipe the grin off his face everytime I changed the faders. Since we don't have a bass player, I added a suboctave to the 12 string setting and left it on the entire night. It fattened up our sound unbelievably and made my leads really kick when I cranked the volume on the Gretsch.
I accidentally discovered a great steel drum sound (YES..STEEL DRUMS!) by using the 12 string setting , adding 50% suboctave and then kicking in the Cry Baby Wah and leaving it at the 75% position. We did Bob Marley's "3 Little Birds" and every note sounded like a tuned steel drum! The POG is like nothing else out there.

The unit is exceptionally well made and until it breaks I will not worry about it at all.
It does require an 18 volt adaptor (supplied with the unit) so I run it separately from my other pedals which are in a daisy chain with a One Spot power adaptor.
Since it is expensive, a backup is out of the question.

Never had any need to deal with them.

I've been playing out for 30 years. Worked all NYC clubs in the late 70's and 80's. Currently (past 8 years) in a duo working every weekend doing covers (Creedence, Mellencamp,Springsteen, CSNY) plus a lot of Irish rebel songs. (With my Ebow, I can even get bagpipes out of the POG.)
I compared this to the Boss Octave units and the Digitech Whammy. Wasn't even close...the POG has better octave tracking and is just outstanding at providing a multitude of sounds. I bought it without trying it (no one in NYC had one in stock!) from Elderly Music. They had the best price ($329 & free shipping). It is by far the best effects purchase I have made to enhance and fatten up the sound of my duo without adding a bass player (plus simulate Al Kooper on a Hammond!). If you are in a similar situation, or if you are in a full band and just want to get some great sounds (12 string/Hammond B3),check out the POG.

Blessedly simple. Only 3 modes to worry about and the rest is just equalizing the signals.

I'm playing a Sadowsky HSH strat and a RIC 650 through a Blues Junior. I've only had it for a few hours so please take this as the first impression it is. The best results I've found are by lightening up on the dry signal for purer tone. The bass mode absolutely rocks. I now feel like I own, and PLAY (which I don't) a bass.

The organ effect is truly exceptional. I find myself having to tone down the guitar pots for best effect. Actually, for best organ effect I've found that running it through a Qtron (no, I don't work for EHX!) is an exponential enhancement at 50% peak and 50% gain.

Solidly built. Same basic package as my Qtron, which has been left outdoors at the beach in mid summer for a month and peed on by my dog without any degradation whatsover. As a matter of fact it seems ever so slightly more responsive after that trauma.

So my 10 rating is based on doing the comps.

So simple the manual is a 2-sided leaflet. Have never needed EHX support.

It's fantastic value because it's so easy to use. Every possible setting (and they are pretty much unlimited with 8 sliders) is visible at the same time. Tremendous for home recording as you really can fairly faithfully replicate other instruments with one single set-up and skill-set.

Very easy to get a basic setup with the guide provided. Lots of options to play with in the sliding switches, which are pretty sensitive and you can suit to your taste - a great way to do the controls on this pedal. Not an exact clear definition of what the "detuned" tones provide.

This pedal provides a quite good rendition of a 12-string - the only fault is that the added octave(s) give a bit metallic tone, so you have to scale back a bit on your amp or guitar tone. This is also true for the "18 string" setting - very cool, but the treble it gives can be a bit ear-splitting. This maybe because I mostly experimented with a Ricky 1997 RI to the pedal and right into a Rivera R30-112, but the basic "Fender" setting through the amp alone wasn't that bright.
The settings they give for an organ sound are truly astounding - what a blast!
Another cool thing is that the sub-octave can be added in a small amount to add some flavor and fatness to your overall sound - very useful.
I've only had this pedal a few days, so am still experimenting - I've never seen anything quite like this. I think the sounds are quite usable for something special when you need it. It's a Keeper!

Seems like it will be OK, time will tell on the slider switches.

A very expensive pedal but worth it as there is nothing like it, and it does the job as advertised. Does make my Ricky sound like a 330-12 when I want it to for British invasion stuff. I won't be giving it up!